California Update for Friday, July 12, 2019

Low-income families have distinct health care needs, but advocates say red tape can prevent them from signing up for insurance. A bill moving through the California Legislature could better sync Medi-Cal enrollment with other programs

Story by Sammy Caiola.

This story was produced in partnership with the USC Center for Health Journalism Collaborative. Find more stories about health access at Capradio.org/uncovered-california

California is poised to set aside billions of dollars to help power companies pay for wildfire damages. Governor Gavin Newsom has indicated he'll sign the fire liability bill sent to his desk Thursday.

California Update

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris has claimed she took on Big Oil during her time as California’s attorney general. PolitiFact California examined her record and spoke with environmental experts about how far she went. Story by Chris Nichols. Read full versions of all fact…

Companies such as Uber and Lyft have been seeking a way to keep their workers classified as contractors instead of employees. But legislation to address worker misclassification moved forward Tuesday night without exemptions covering them. Story by Ben Adler. (Photo: In this Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016,…

Protesters opposed to the measure sought to block entrances to the Capitol and repeatedly disrupted the Senate and Assembly before Newsom signed the California Vaccine Medical Exemption measure. Story by Ben Adler. (Photo: The Senate chamber is brought to a halt by protesters - Andrew Nixon /…

California Republicans gather for their state party convention starting Friday, with new leadership and nowhere to go but up. But the party faces a tough balancing act ahead of next year’s presidential election. Story by Ben Adler. (Photo: Brad Parscale, manager of President Donald Trump's…

Assembly Bill 5 is headed to a vote at the California State Senate next week and is expected to pass. Many drivers for Uber and Lyft welcome the move, but others fear the bill will hurt the state's gig economy. As part of our California Dream Collaboration, Capital Public Radio’s Randol White…

NorCal News

Kids at Schaefer Elementary write their poems. Credit: Margo Perin.The timeline for recovery after a disaster is different for everyone. Educators in Santa Rosa are noticing that many elementary students are just now beginning to process their trauma from the 2017 wildfires. KRCB’s Adia White tells…

At the end of August, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group hosted a forum in Mountain View to celebrate women leaders. In this excerpt from the event, Wendy Okolo, a NASA Aerospace Engineering Researcher and Hannah Gordon, a former journalist and now the Chief Administrative Officer of the San…

Supervisor Lynda Hopkins is tired of being asked: “how can you do your job with kids.” She talked about why this question is problematic during a panel discussion about women in leadership at the Paradise Ridge Winery at the end of August. The panel was hosted by the non-profit California Human…

Research from the University of California at Davis published last month shows that climate change could dramatically shrink oyster habitat. KRCB’s Adia White visited Hog Island Oyster Company on Tomales Bay to find out how this will affect local businesses. (Sorting oysters at ahead of the…

September 7th on KRCB TV 22, we are premiering Reveal TV, from The Center for Investigative Reporting. The first documentary episode tells the story of Rita Katz, who co-founded her own private intelligence company, but Katz’s legacy is also surrounded by controversy. Director of the film Ann Shin…

In late August, President Donald Trump said this to American Jews: “If you want to vote Democrat, you are being very disloyal to Jewish people and very disloyal to Israel.” To some, this brought up the shadow of anti-Semitism. The supposed dual loyalty of Jews has long been used as a weapon against…